{{Infobox college football bowl game | name = Poultry Bowl | full_name = | nickname = | defunct = yes | logo = | image_size = | caption = | stadium = World War Memorial Stadium | previous_stadiums = Gainesville City Park<br /> (1973) | location = Greensboro, North Carolina | previous_locations = Gainesville, Georgia | years = 1973–1974 | previous_tie-ins = | conference_tie-ins = | payout = | sponsors = None }}
The '''Poultry Bowl''' was an American college football bowl game played in 1973 and 1974 in Gainesville, Georgia and Greensboro, North Carolina. All teams involved were members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) at the time of their participation.
The maiden game was played at Gainesville's City Park Complex on Saturday, December 8, 1973, between {{cfb link|year=1973|team=Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks|title=Stephen F. Austin}} and {{cfb link|year=1973|team=Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs|title=Gardner–Webb}}. The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks beat the Gardner–Webb Bulldogs, 31–10.
The bowl was aimed at small colleges that did not have opportunities to play in major bowl game. For the initial game, the selection committee also considered {{cfb link|year=1973|team=Elon Fightin' Christians|title=|Elon}}, Jacksonville State, Troy State, Grambling, {{cfb link|year=1973|team=Carson–Newman Eagles|title=Carson–Newman}}, and Jackson State before settling on Stephen F. Austin and Gardner–Webb.
The Lumberjacks' mobile quarterback Larry Mayer scored one touchdown and set up others. The halftime score was 10–3, but Stephen F. Austin dominated the second half, featuring long runs by Mayer, tailback John Reece, and fullback Bill Tyler. Gardner–Webb used their passing game to move the ball but couldn't keep up with the Lumberjacks. Unfortunately, cold rain fell two hours before kickoff and the crowd was estimated at only 1,000.<ref>[http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/archives/13729/ Gainesville Times Article]</ref>
1973 was the first and only Poultry Bowl played in Gainesville. The game was played the following year at the historic World War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina. The 1974 tilt featured {{cfb link|year=1974|team=William Penn Statesmen|title=William Penn}} and {{cfb link|year=1974|team=Guilford Quakers|title=Guilford}}. In 1974, Dennis Haglin took over the position of head coach at Guilford from Henry Vansant, who had resigned.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/2015236774/1974-12-05/ed-1/seq-8/ocr/ | title=The Guilfordian. (Guilford College, N.C.) 1914-current, December 05, 1974, Page Page 8, Image 8 · North Carolina Newspapers }}</ref> The game ended in a 7–7 tie, but a tiebreaker was used, most first downs, and Guilford was given an 8–7 victory.
==Game results== {| class="wikitable" ! Date ! colspan="2" | Winner ! colspan="2" | Loser ! Notes |- | December 8, 1973 || '''{{cfb link|year=1973|team=Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks|title=Stephen F. Austin}}''' || '''31''' || {{cfb link|year=1973|team=Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs|title=Gardner–Webb}} || 10 || |- | December 7, 1974 || '''{{cfb link|year=1974|team=Guilford Quakers|title=Guilford}}''' || '''8''' || {{cfb link|year=1974|team=William Penn Statesmen|title=William Penn}} || ''7''|| Guilford wins on tiebreaker–first downs |}
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Defunct college football bowls